Newsroom: Jo Cribb says crackdown on rough sleepers ignores homeless kids

Jo Cribb highlights hidden homelessness in Newsroom column

CEWH Steering Committee member, Jo Cribb’s powerful column, “Crackdown on rough sleepers ignores homeless kids”, on Newsroom, draws attention to the hidden realities of homelessness for women and children.

In her column, Jo writes, “There continues to be a large and growing number of people living without shelter,” referencing a sobering line from last month’s Government housing announcement. 

Jo highlights that Ministry of Housing and Urban Development data shows that over 100,000 people are experiencing severe housing deprivation in Aotearoa, including nearly 5,000 people sleeping rough and more than 3,000 living in their cars. Not only have these numbers grown in real terms, they have also increased as a proportion of the population - now up to 10.1 people per 10,000.

Jo writes that while it is comforting that Ministers acknowledge the problem and have announced a package to respond, “you will forgive my cynicism. It doesn’t line up,” she says.

Jo highlights that the Government’s recent housing package aimed at addressing rough sleeping focuses specifically on those living visibly on the streets. The press release is even titled “Short-term actions to address rough sleeping.” - with more housing places made available for people sleeping rough, and funding specifically for those living in city centres.

In her column, Jo observes that rough sleeping is highly visible and undeniable. When walking through towns and cities, she says “it is glaringly obvious,” how many people live without shelter. Yet, she notes that Ministry data shows that those sleeping rough make up only around seven percent of those without housing. The remaining 93 percent live in improvised or mobile dwellings, such as cars, garages, or overcrowded homes.

Jo highlights that the Coalition to End Women’s Homelessness research shows many more people are hidden - couch surfing, staying in unsafe housing, or remaining in unsafe relationships just to maintain shelter. As she observes, “walk the streets and you’ll see fewer women than men sleeping rough, because women know they are not safe there.” Women make up nearly half of those without shelter, yet they are usually in less visible categories of homelessness, which the Government’s package largely ignores.

Jo also draws attention to children living in hidden homelessness, noting Ministry data that the prevalence of severe housing deprivation among single-parent families in 2023 was 488.4 per 10,000 households. She writes, “I’ll admit this statistic baffles me, but I can bet it means far too many children are living in cars, garages, overcrowded houses, or other improvised shelters. You won’t see them on the streets, but they are there.”

In her column, Jo concludes that the Government’s focus on rough sleepers “will do little to support homeless women or their children” because it targets only the most visible minority of people without shelter. She observes that “focusing on the visible, at the expense of hidden homelessness, might make us feel better or give us confidence in the Government. But it does nothing to ease the despair of the many more who live without adequate shelter.”

Homelessness is more than what we see on the streets. Effective policy must go beyond the visible to address the lived experiences of women and children, who remain largely hidden but are profoundly affected by housing deprivation.

Read Jo’s column here.